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Functional assessment of animal interactions with shrub‐facilitation complexes: a formal synthesis and conceptual framework
Author(s) -
Lortie Christopher J.,
Filazzola Alessandro,
Sotomayor Diego A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
functional ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2435
pISSN - 0269-8463
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2435.12530
Subject(s) - biology , facilitation , herbivore , ecology , shrub , pollination , seed dispersal , trophic level , plant community , biological dispersal , ecological succession , neuroscience , pollen , population , sociology , demography
Summary Facilitation studies focus primarily on plants often neglecting the extended effects that cascade through ecological networks. Plants interact with other organisms through consumptive effects and a myriad of non‐trophic effects such as habitat amelioration or pollination. Shrubs are a dominant benefactor species frequent in plant‐facilitation studies but can also have direct and indirect interactions with animals. Herein, we use a systematic review to address the following two objectives: (i) to propose a conceptual framework that explores these interactions including the functional roles of the interacting species, and (ii) to quantitatively summarize the current state of this field examining effects beyond plant–plant interactions. To date, a relatively limited number of studies have examined the importance of coupled benefactor‐subordinate plant positive interactions with animals (79 studies in total). From this set of studies, 36 studies documented positive plant interactions generating a total of 53 independent instances of either shrub–plant–animal or shrub–animal–plant interactions. These interaction pathways were evenly split between direct (49%) and indirect (51%) interactions of shrubs with animals. Hypotheses frequently tested included seed trapping, herbivore protection, magnet pollination and facilitation‐mediated secondary seed dispersal. The most common functional role of shrubs was protection from herbivory, and the most common animal role associated with plant‐facilitation complexes was that of a consumer. None of these studies explored bidirectional plant–animal interactions, used a network approach to describe the interaction sets, nor contrasted interaction strengths. Multitrophic, integrated sets of experiments incorporating plant facilitation into community dynamics are thus critical in advancing management of high‐stress ecosystems wherein positive interactions are commonly reported.